VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND NEWER 1949-1954 54 235 TIMING GEAR

I AM REBUILDING MY 54 235 POWER GLIDE ENGINE THE REBUILD KIT CAME WITH A ALUMINUM TIMING GEAR BEEN A LONG TIME SINCE I USED ONE .HOW MUCH NOISE DOES IT MAKE COMPARED TO THE ORIGINAL . SEEMS LIKE THE ONES I USED IN THE PAST MADE A LITTLE MORE NOISE BUT NOT THAT MUCH . ANY COMMENTS

It stops one cold when the bakelite gear teeth come off. In the old 216 there was enough clearence above the piston at TDC so the valves did not hit, so a spinning motor with pumping pistons paid no attention to a dead cam (and dead valves). Unlikely the aluminum gear would have teeth come off. Cannot say how much noise it will make. Good luck which ever way you go.

The aluminum gear will make a whining noise that will be quite noticable in your otherwise quiet hydraulic lifter engine.
The fiber gear will last longer than you or I.A new one should go for 100,000 miles or more.The high presseure oiling 235 engine will provide a good supply of oil to the timing gears as long as the passages are clean.........I would go for a fiber gear.

What is the deal with oversize bakelite fiber gears? I have seen ones listed as .003 oversize. Is these to compensate for wear in the crankshaft gear? Seems odd that the steel crankshaft gear would wear that much running in combination with a bakelite fiber gear? Can one use a .003 oversize gear on an otherwise unworn crankshaft gear?
Ignition on, push, jump in, slip ito second, pop clutch...and away

Yes, the oversize is to compensate for wear on the steel gear.Its always best to replace both gears as the steel gear will have a wear pattern from the old fiber gear and this also can cause noise and wear to the new fiber gear.I would advise to purchase either an old stock genuine Chevrolet gear or a fresh new American made.The fiber gear fits from 1937-62 so is still available.The steel gear originally was different. 1937-39 was one gear and 1940-47 another
The 1940 had a cam timing tweek..Then in 1948 they changed the cam timing slightly again for better high speed performance.The 1940-47 version was discontinued and only the 1948 was sold for replacement.I have the later 1948 gear in my '39 and gives excellant results.Not sure if you can find n original 1937-39 gear.

I have had both fiber and aluminum gears fail in 235 truck engines. The fiber one was in a used truck and it failed because the oiling nozzle plugged up with nasty engine oil and sludge. Back then it was not unusual for the engines in dump trucks that were driven by rookie drivers on dirt roads to be found to be sludged up and small oil passages plugged up.
The aluminum gear failed on a 235 truck engine in a panel truck that was started on a really cold morning in The texas panhandle. The indication that the gear failed on both engines was a swoosh swoosh of the windshield wipers then silence.......and the engines failed to start and run. The distributor shaft would not turn.. When the front of the engines were torn down there was seven or eight teeth on the cam gear stripped off. both gears were replaced with like gears without changing the crank gear, and were still running strong many miles later.

Reminds me of many years ago. First on a 1941 coupe and later on a sedan, as I topped a hill at full speed and released the accelerator pedal, the wipers made 1 swipe and parked at the wrong end. Both times I was in the military and was on an extremely tight schedule and budget. Both times I found a "shade tree mechanic" that fixed the engine for me while on my weekend pass. Caught a dog (Greyhound) and rode it home and caught the same dog on the way back to pick up the car. Those were the days.

Sometimes I get lucky. I replaced the still-working fiber timing gear last year when I had to pull the timing gear cover off to fix a persistent oil leak. Got a set of timing gears (steel crank gear and aluminum cam gear) from EPW. In my case the aluminum gear is just as quiet as the fiber gear had been.

Chevy50Jim

My 216 left me in the middle of nowhere 2 days after I got it. And I don't have a cell phone. I think it was my own fault that the fiber gear went out. I dumped a can of seafoam into the motor. And the next day the gear was destroyed. I sat there for an hour trying to start it, thinking the points went out. (it was about 11:30pm) I replaced it with an aluminum gear. I think for my peace of mind it was worth it. I also tapped out the front pan covers to accept bolts from the front. That makes it soooo much easier if I ever have to take that front engine apart again.